Pages

Monday, September 6, 2010

Back to School, Back to Life as Usual

Well, after a long and hair-pullin' summer, the kids started back to school last Monday, followed by four days off for the holiday weekend.In the final days of summer, James was actually saying he was excited about returning to school, seeing his friends every day, etc. This came a big shock to me. Huge. But then when I sat and thought about it, it made some sense.When James first started school here, he had been home in America all of a month. He didn't know anyone outside of the family and didn't speak more than a couple handfuls of English. Aside from that, he knew neither the layout nor the routine of his new school in his new country. He did know how to shoot spitballs and fly paper airplanes. Some things for schoolboys after all, are universal.Then, a few months after starting school, came summer break. And then fall. And he started anew again, still not knowing a whole lot of English or a whole lot of kids.

This fall, however, is a whole new wad of gum under the desk. Because now, 20 months since arriving home, he speaks (and reads) English pretty fluently. He has a lot of friends. He knows routines now, and expectations. And when he found out that his first period class contained just about all of his close friends, it truly was something to look forward to. Even in terms of the actual schoolwork, he isn't nearly as apprehensive as he was in months past. When Teacher lectures, he understands. When reading is required, he can comprehend. When confused, he can ask questions. He can even complain that the school lunch is crappy.

And so James starts this year of school as a freshman. Ready to learn, ready to act up with his friends, ready for a relatively normal year of school as a relatively normal student.

Now if I can only ready myself for another year as manager of the kids with their homework, projects, permission slips, field trips and after school activities I'll be OK.....

No comments:

Like Mr. Rogers used to say (paraphrased), Won't - you be - my Followers?

A Little History

Quite frankly, I don't know what I was thinking at the time. We went from 3 kids by birth to "oh, let's adopt a 4th" without a whole lot of deliberation.

While adopting said 4th (in Kazakhstan), we met a young man of 8 yrs by the name of Borya. Thought he was a pretty nice kid and years later found out we could adopt him too. Only thing was, he came as a 2-in-1 package with his younger sister Ylia. What the hay, said we, and rushed headlong into the adoption process. Again. To adopt two kids that were 10 and 13 at the time.

Started a blog to keep track of where my head was in this adoption game. When Borya and Ylia arrived home, we were suddenly the proud parents of six kids, ages 9, 10, 11, 11, 13 and 13.

That was back in 2009, but I still blog. I figure what doesn't make us laugh makes us cry, and I'd rather be laughing.

Also? We live on a farm(ish) with a few dozen critters. You're just as likely to read a post about the farming side of things as you are the parenting side. Thought you might want to know in case you have allergies or something.

As for the structure of this blog, I pretty much post on a daily basis, and I tend to be all over the place in what I write about, so if it's nice, neat and compartmentalized you're looking for, be off with you now, you won't find it here.

I do have some structure, though, I'm not a total bohemian. I roll like this:
Mon: Mirth Monday. A little somethin' to make you chuckle.
Tues: Sometimes Adoption Tuesday, sometimes A Tip For Tuesday, sometimes random thoughts.
Weds: Wordless Wednesday. Usually a photo or some artwork from myself or one of my oh-so-talented children.
Thurs: all random, all the time.
Fri: Farm Friday. Speaks for itself.
Sat, Sun: More random musings.

Feel free to explore and don't be shy -- drop me a line to say hello, and be sure to add yourself as a follower. Feeds my ego in a big way. I'm very insecure.